2013 Year in Review: The Way to Happiness Spreads Hope

The Nashville chapter of The Way to Happiness Foundation had a whirlwind of a year, from distributing booklets to an entire community to reaching out to Native Americans, its message went far and wide.

The Way to Happiness, a book by L. Ron Hubbard, is comprised of 21 precepts, each one predicated on the fact that one’s survival depends on the survival of others—and that without the survival of others, neither joy nor happiness are attainable. In the two decades since it was authored, some 80 million copies of the book passed hand to hand, thus inspiring the international movement which has found its way to Nashville, TN.

The Nashville team decided to distribute copies of the book to neighboring communities.  “It’s our responsibility to pass it along,” says program coordinator, Rev. Brian Fesler. “This book can uplift whole societies, reduce crime and encourage cooperation.”

Throughout 2013 the group volunteered in local health fairs, festivals and community gatherings.

In April, they participated in the Earth Day celebration where they distributed over 1,000 copies of the book. “There is an entire chapter about safeguarding and improving the environment around one, and that is very timely for this world today,” says Fesler.

To ring in the end of the school year, Volunteers participated in a local festival where they distributed copies of the book to youth.

Over the summer, volunteers joined up with the Edgehill Youth Council to distribute copies of the booklet to an entire neighborhood: 750 booklets went to the residents. “When copies of the booklet go out in bulk like this in an area, we have noticed a reduction in crime and immorality. That’s why it’s so important to spread it around,” says Fesler.  

The team in Nashville has plans to reach out to the rest of the counties in Tennessee, spreading this positive message.  The book is secular, and its only discussion of religion is the advice to respect the religious beliefs of others. 

For more information, visit thewaytohappiness.org.